Revealed: Theresa May has packed her Brexit committee with diehard Leavers

The membership of Theresa May’s cabinet committee for Brexit has been revealed, and it couldn’t be much worse.

The list of names, leaked to Politico, includes every senior cabinet minister who backed Leave in the referendum campaign: Boris Johnson, Liam Fox, David Davis, Andrea Leadsom, Priti Patel and Chris Grayling.

While the other six members at least nominally supported Remain — some of whom, like Greg Clark, will be voices of moderation — this is a committee that will unquestionably push for a hard Brexit.

Despite the legal complexity of the negotiations, the Attorney General has not been given a seat. And although May has promised extensive consultation with the devolved nations, the secretaries of state for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will only attend ‘as required’ by the PM.

It’s a sign of the government’s extreme resistance to transparency that, until now, the public was not even told who would be determining the UK’s negotiating position.

The full list:

Theresa May, prime minister

Philip Hammond, chancellor of the exchequer

Amber Rudd, home secretary

Boris Johnson, foreign secretary

David Davis, secretary of state for exiting the European Union

Liam Fox, secretary of state for international trade

Greg Clark, secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy

Damian Green, secretary of state for work and pensions

Chris Grayling, secretary of state for transport

Andrea Leadsom, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs

Priti Patel, secretary of state for international development

Patrick McLoughlin, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster

David Mundell, secretary of state for Scotland (as required)

Alun Cairns, secretary of state for Wales (as required)

James Brokenshire, secretary of state for Northern Ireland (as required)

3 Responses to “Revealed: Theresa May has packed her Brexit committee with diehard Leavers”

CR

LS

Yes, but the hard Brexit that this committee will push for does not reflect the “people’s” near 50/50 share of votes. Anyone who voted remain (half of the population) has been disregarded as somehow entirely nonrepresentational.